Deadly Philippine bus crash shatters dreams of students
TANAY (Philippines) — Heart-wrenching cries filled the air when parents and relatives claimed the remains of the students who died in a bus accident on Monday (Feb 20) in Tanay, Rizal.
TANAY (Philippines) — Heart-wrenching cries filled the air when parents and relatives claimed the remains of the students who died in a bus accident on Monday (Feb 20) at Tanay in Rizal province east of Manila.
When the bus smashed into an electric post killing 15 students on the spot, it also crushed their dreams.
Ms May Villar, 36, the older sister of Mr Eman Gel Garinto, 18, one of the students who died, said that her younger brother wanted to join his father in Saudi Arabia once he finished his studies.
She told The Manila Times that Mr Gel Garinto had so many dreams, especially when he started university. Like most of the victims, he was a student with BestLink College of the Philippines.
“He had so many dreams in life,” she said, adding that their mother was so grief-stricken that she refused to talk to members of media.
The families of those who died claimed the students’ bodies from a funeral parlour on Tuesday (Feb 21).
In front of the funeral parlor, students of BestLink with black ribbons pinned on their uniforms gathered to light candles to show their sympathies with the bereaved families.
Another victim, Ms Lovely Seringan, 29, used to work abroad but she came home to finish her studies.
Her brother, Mr Nixon Seringan, 45, told The Manila Times that she used to be an overseas worker.
Mr Seringan, who flew in from Zamboanga, shared that his sister returned to the Philippines because she wanted to pursue her studies.
About 50 BestLink students were on a field trip for a school project when they met with the accident.
BestLink Novaliches Coordinator for Special Activities Zanny Samsona said the students were not compelled to join the excursion.
“We gave them an option to either do an alternative project,” he said, denying that the students were asked to do a thesis if they opted not to join the field trip.
The accident occurred when the driver lost control on a downhill slope, regional police spokesman Superintendent Chitadel Gaoiran told AFP.
The impact caved in the front of the bus and scattered parts of its engine on the roadside.
The bus's brakes appeared to have failed, said Boysie Mata, the police desk officer at Tanay. AGENCIES